V&T sets theme train schedule including Polar Express

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad will be steaming through summer with additional theme trains: Toast of the Canyon and “Run to the Roundhouse Nellie” murder mystery and barbecue.

The Toast of the Canyon tours, date night with a backdrop of Northern Nevada scenery, runs the last Saturday of each month. Passengers travel 45 minutes south of the Carson City Depot into the Carson River Canyon. The Saturday afternoon train continues south of the Carson City Depot into a quiet area that features spectacular high desert scenery paired with appetizers and a glass of wine.

There’s also two more runs of “Run to the Roundhouse Nellie” Saturday murder mystery trains, Aug. 22 and Sept. 12. Hearty western barbecue chicken and tri tip dinner with killer sides, drinks and dessert at the depot. Then climb aboard the V&T for non-stop theater melodrama featuring a good-hearted rancher, a damsel in distress, and a villainous swindler with an epic conclusion that ends where else? On the railroad tracks, of course.

Tickets for the Polar Express aboard the V&T go on sale Aug. 20 with 60 rides planned for the holiday season beginning Nov. 19. The one-hour round trip journey to the North Pole has consistently sold out since debuting five years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season.

Regularly scheduled trains depart Carson City for Virginia City Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. Friday. Steam trains run through Aug. 28, departing Carson City at 10 a.m. Round trip steam train tickets are $52 for adults, $32 for children ages 3 to 16 (toddlers and infants are free) and $48 for seniors 65 and older. Tickets are available online at www.vtrailway.com or (877) 724-5007.

The Carson City passenger station is located at Eastgate Siding on Flint Drive off U.S. Highway 50 East. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.vtrailway.com call (877) 724-5007.